Kenya has taken a bold step toward transforming its agricultural sector with the establishment of the World Agriculture Forum (WAF) Country Council. The new body is designed to fast-track agricultural modernisation, lift productivity levels, and integrate cutting-edge global innovations into the everyday realities of Kenyan farmers.
The council’s inaugural event drew an impressive gathering of government officials, agricultural researchers, investors, and agribusiness leaders from across the sector. Held under the theme “The Convergence of Intelligence: Strategic Investments in AI and Bioengineering for a Resilient Agricultural Future,” the launch set the tone for what stakeholders described as a pivotal moment in Kenya’s farming landscape.
The initiative arrives at a critical juncture. Kenya’s farming sector is under mounting pressure from climate-related shocks — alternating floods and droughts have repeatedly thrown planting seasons into disarray in recent years. Trade barriers continue to constrain supply chains, while a rapidly growing population is placing ever-greater demands on food production systems already stretched thin.
Principal Secretary Shaukat Abdulrazak made clear at the launch that the WAF Country Council represents something far deeper than the creation of another institution. He argued that the way forward lies in combining digital and biological intelligence, noting that artificial intelligence can sharpen farming decisions while bioengineering provides the tools to develop seeds capable of surviving harsh and unpredictable growing conditions.
The WAF Kenya Country Council is specifically structured to close the persistent gap between government policy ambitions and what actually happens on the ground across the country’s farms. It aims to build integrated investment pipelines that bring digital technology and biological innovation together, so that solutions emerging from research centres ultimately find their way to smallholder farmers in Kenya’s counties.
ILRI Director General Appolinaire Djikeng added his voice to the calls for meaningful progress, stressing that sustained collaboration among all players — scientists, policymakers, and the private sector alike — will be the deciding factor in whether Kenya’s agricultural sector achieves genuine, lasting transformation.
With food security remaining a central concern for millions of Kenyans, the establishment of the WAF Country Council signals a growing national recognition that piecemeal, isolated efforts are no longer sufficient. The country is now placing its bet on coordinated, technology-driven strategies to secure its agricultural future — and the livelihoods of the farmers who underpin it.
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